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An extreme close-up with a beautiful furry moth

Alex Hyde Naturepl.com

By Yvaine Ye

NO NEED to fear this hairy monster. This poplar hawkmoth couldn’t even try to bite you: it has no functioning mouthparts, and will never be able to eat.

These moths (Laothoe populi) are found all over Europe, and can reach the size of a small bat. Unlike other moths, they have no proboscis protruding from their head, so are unable to sip nectar from flowers.

Instead, these adults rely solely on body fat they stored for energy when they were caterpillars. This keeps them going for just three or four weeks, meaning the race …